The boy who leaped in the year 2050

TBWL#9: Engage in fight

My challenge in existence isn't always simply to survive, however to thrive; and to give up this misery. My scars display ache and suffering, however additionally they display my will to survive. They're a part of my records that'll constantly be there. I had been in hell at the same time as preventing those zombies; I will preserve going.

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Calixto’s Point of view

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Feet that seem not to touch the ground and a breath that could be hard to catch. Sweat all over their faces and bodies trembling like a stage of palpitation. Our eyes could not stay in a single area. Thus it needs to move every second. The ears that should be kept open, everyone needs to be alert. Those feelings are real, and this is the epitome of fear. I know danger awaits in each of us.

“I found a box of grenades, still has a pin on them. Should we get them all?” says Lore.

“Here, I found an army bag.” I handed 

“We need a long-range weapon, and guns will be likely to be seen here. I wish we could have Katana or swords. That would be a good alternative protective gear since bullets are limited,” says Romer while breaking into the lockers. “f**k!”

We are both shocked when a corpse fell into Romer. He immediately shoved it off and stood up as if nothing happened. That was not a zombie, but a person who rot-stocked in the locker for a long time. That’s our fate, we may not be eaten, but we could die in vain like that fella’.

It took us an hour to finally fill our backpack with combat equipment. Just when we were about to leave, we heard footsteps, and then the next thing we noticed was the clicking of a gun. 

“Drop the weapon, that is if you still want to leave here in one piece,” says a woman

“Do not try to make a single move. We don’t want to hurt you unless you are a zombie,” says another guy from our back. 

We can’t turn our heads because there is a gun pointing at the back of our heads. Who are these people? And how many are they?

“Gelo, take their backpack.”

“Gelo? It’s me, Romer.” 

In my peripheral view, I saw Romer turn around after trying to have a conversation with the guy named Gelo. Wait, could they be his comrades?

“Romer? Did you make it here? We are not speaking ill nor wishing for your death. It’s just that you were chased by a group of Zombies when we got separated. We never expect to see you kicking as a piece of s**t, dude,” says the guy who called Gelo. He embraced Romer and ordered his friends to withdraw the gun pointing at us.

“I found these kittens in the forest. They want to join us,” says Romer while introducing us one by one. 

“Cut the introductions and shits. Let us get out of here first.”

Yeah, how dare we waste time chit chatting when in fact, we are digging our grave by coming here. We ended up joining their team, and we are now heading out from the basement. Somehow, we are relieved when a hot and blinding light touches our skin. We are on safer ground… or just my thought? I don’t know where and how the swarm of zombies welcomed us. 

“Holy cow! Run for your life! They might be slower and blind, but their numbers are unimaginably terrifying.”

“Some of them are day walker variant II; this is bad!”

The day walkers are chasing us. However, on our way out to the exit, bunches of stupid brain-eaters are blocking our way. We are cornered! I thought we could easily escape from day walkers since they are dumber and useless compared to night walkers, but they are just too many to handle. They are aggressive as hell, hence any moment from now, we are going to be devoured by them.

I closed my eyes; on the verge of giving up, I am reminded of the thing which we should have done earlier. We were distracted and surprised, thus we forgot about the bomb. It is really explosive, therefore if there are hidden mines along this area, we could be roasted together with the zombie. But this is the last choice we have. I threw the explosive, and it went directly into the sea of zombies. They were scattered, and we saw a slim passage to escape. We headed forward as I threw another grenade at our back. Some of them turn into pieces, yet it seems that their number is far from decreasing.

There are wires around the area. I wonder where the hell we should run to escape this hell… we have to climb off these fences and scratch ourselves with the thorny wire on top of it. If we are going to bleed, the nightwalkers will smell the blood for sure. Come to think of it, if the wound dries before sunset, then it will no longer reek. Getting a scratch for a while is better than turning into those kinds.

We climbed off the fences since we could not find the way where we came from. I do not want to look back. We need to keep looking forward because the moment we look back means throwing away our precious time to escape. Every second counts, one minute late, then we might get caught by them. Our hands are dripping with drops of blood, but this pain is nothing compared to our determination to live. Most of us landed safely outside the vicinity, however…

“Help!” 

I witnessed how Henri and the two guys from Romer’s comrade fall into the arms of zombies. The sound of their pleading had my ear almost deaf. I can feel their pain by simply hearing their voice and reading their face. It is as if those bites are redirected to my body, they are ripped into pieces, like a fried crispy chicken.

“Let’s move forward,” says Romer. 

The team already turned their back and started walking away. I clench my fist and greet my teeth; I cannot forget how Henri's eyes beg for salvation, but we cannot do anything. We lost three men in broad daylight… How many will fall into the hands of nightwalkers later, tonight? 

Lore tapped my back and held my hand. She smiled and squeezed my hands, “Let’s go. We have to treat our wounds.”

We are going to deal with a lot of them in the capital. There are lots of zombies in the ruined military camp, but there is only a pinch of density in urban areas, especially in the capital of Luzon. The most populated region is Luzon, it is undeniable that this region has turned millions of Maharlikans into zombies. It feels like the (10) ten of us are the sole survivor… I hope not. I am sure there are other people who are safe in every corner of this region. The biggest question is until when are we hanging into this slim faith of surviving?

“That is hella crazy. I thought that would be my last time breathing,” says the woman with black curly hair and round onyx eyes. “That grenade saved us. By the way, my name is Heranya, but you may call me Hera or Anya. You guys are Lorelei and Calixto, right?”

“Yes,” I replied without batting an eye on her. We were all busy looking at the surroundings, thus we had no time to talk face to face.

“We are going to urbanized part of this area, are you guys willing to die for the sake of food and stocks?” says the guy from Romer’s comrade. 

“By the way, we had not formally introduced ourselves. I am Enzo.”

“Jaziel.”

“Alfred.”

“Gerard.”

“Granger.”

“Alice.”

That introduction was the last part when we had a conversation. When we arrived at our location, we ought not to make extra noise. Our goal this time is stock; it has been a day since we had eaten edible food. We went inside a convenience store and found spoiled loaves of bread and melted chocolates. We are lucky enough to collect cup noodles and biscuits which do not exceed their expiration date. Speaking of the expiration date… I noticed something strange. This box of flakes I was holding was manufactured in the year 2048 and would expire (1) one year from now.

2048… according to Henri, a hidden village was built (10) Ten years ago before zombies started chasing people. How come they can manufacture in the year 2048?  

What exactly happened?! 

“Lore, when exactly was this land invaded by the zombie?” Some information does not seem to fit. I blame that capsule for dragging me in this situation. I don’t know if this is a dream, a premonition or the reality.

“Why did you only ask about it now? Were you really unaware of what happened in this country? Was it because of that capsule thing?”

I nodded my head. I was unable to dig into the s**t things that happened because we are bombarded by danger these consecutive days.

“Well, I was young back then, this land lost hope two years ago.”

“Have you heard about the whereabouts of the President and his family back then?” 

“Yes. I had never seen Mr. Charles Dalton in person, but he was still ruling this country at least until he abandoned this place, or maybe he died two years ago. Everything has been really blurry ever since the zombie appeared in the picture. His last project was called Boulevard Hidden village, but I am not quite sure if it was fulfilled. I heard that it is the safest place for people to stay. I also found it weird to build such an extravagant village with high walls. It is as if he is hiding the villagers from the outside world.”

I think I know why he builds that… It is not about hiding the population from the outside world but preventing the zombies from entering. I still have a question to ask of her, if only Romer had not called for help, to block the door of the convenience store.

 s**t! Here they go again… they must have smelled our wound. 

We have nowhere to go!

Damn it!